Change of skincare routine

My Body Shop skincare was running out, I did a bit of research and chose some new products. I'd seen a few reviews on blogger and youtube about the Boots Botanics skin care range (all good ones) so I thought I'd pick products from this line. In the end I went for the Pore Perfecting Deep Clean Mousse and the Pore Perfecting Toner (both for blemish prone skin). I'd never used a cleansing mousse before, so I was quite excited :)

Pore Perfecting Deep Clean Mousse.
Okay so on the front of the bottle is states 'Rosemary protects and clarifies. Willow Bark exfoliates and clears' on the back it continues to say 'Plant extracts at levels that really work, combined and formulated for unbeatable product performance. Naturally. The oil-free mousse sweeps away impurities, excess oil and dead skin cells, while alsokeeping skin smooth and healthy looking. Formulated to be non-pore blocking' I have oily and blemish prone skin so this was all sounding very good.

The cleansing mousse comes in a bottle with a pump top, which i love - keeps bacteria out and it's easy to control how much product you use. I'd say you only need one pump, this is plenty to use on the whole of your face. It lathers up nicely, moderately foamy but as you can see from the picture, the more you rub it in, the foam settles down. It has a slight scent to it, which is hard to describe, but its very pleasant. It leaves your skin feeling really fresh and clean afterwards and also seems to firm up your skin a bit, but not to the point that it feels tight. I also found that it left my skin so smooth! It hasn't really got rid of any blemishes that I already had... but it certainly has stopped the spread of them, or any new ones from forming, which is fab! As for the pores? I can't see that this product has done alot. I've never used a mousse before but so far I'm really liking this product.

Pore Prefecting Toner.
On the front of the bottle it says 'Rosemary protects and clarifies. Amazonian clay obsorbs oil' on the back it pretty much says the same as the cleanser, that it has plant extracts bladi-bladi-bla.

So this just comes in a plain bottle with screwtop with just an open hole. Hmm, this is okay but it's easy to over pour the product, so a squeezy bottle with the liquid equivelant of a sifter (I don't have any idea what that's called) would've been nicer. But it's no problem. Weirdly, this does have a scent... it's similar to a clay mud mask smell. This also left my skin feeling very smooth and really did abosrb all the oil - it stopped that 'midday shine' too, which is pretty darn good! Along with stopping my face from looking shiny in the day, it's also stopped my pores from looking so big. The cleanser really hasn't done this but I have seen a big difference because of the toner. My pores aren't noticeable anymore. This is a great toner, would deffinitley recommend this to those of you that have oily skin.


I also decided to change my moisturiser. I had been using Olay Beauty Fluid... and to be honest I just wasn't diggin' it. It claimed to be non-greasy, but it felt greasy to me? I just didn't like it. I'd also never used a night cream and I thought it was about time - way overdue. I decided on Superdrug's Tea Tree Moisturiser to use in the mornings and Superdrug's Vitamin Nourishing Night Cream.

Superdrug's Tea Tree Moisturiser.
If you didn't know, I had previously been using tea tree cleansers and toners... and it really worked with keeping my break-outs under control. So, I didn't want to completley eliminate the tea tree element from my routine, so I saw this little moisturiser in Superdrug and thought I'd grab it. Superdrug say 'Moisturiser with natural tea tree and peppermint oils and aloe vera extract'.

This moisturiser smells very minty as it contains peppermint oil. The peppermint oil also gives a cooling effect to the skin, which is great to wake you up in the mornings. The moisturiser bottle comes with a pump... I love pumps because it's much easier to control the amount you use and no bacteria is able to get into the product. Unfortunately this comes in a tiny bottle (30ml) which means it's probably not going to last me very long at all. It sinks into the skin almost instantly and feels very light - but very moisturising at the same time. I'd like to repurchase this as I'm really enjoying it... but is it really worth it for the tiny bottle?



Superdrug's Vitamin Nourishing Night Cream.
I decided to get this moisturiser after reading a review on Natalie's blog. Great review, tells you all you need to know and a fabulous blogger too - so you should deffinitley follow if you aren't already!

This moisturiser has a beautiful scent, that I really like, it's a creamy moisturiser and is white in colour. The packaging is simple but nice... Although the consistency is thick, it feels quite light on the skin - to me it doesn't feel like it clogs your pores like a lot of other thick night creams do (which is why I stopped using them in the first place). It abosrbs in the skin faster than I thought it would, and feels nourishing right from when you put it on and in the morning my skin feels smooth and healthy. Plus this tube is huuuuge (125ml) so will last me forever - you only need a very small amount, it goes a long way.

If you have any questions about my skin care/type of skin/past experiences, just leave a comment below :)
Natalieslovex

Wowza

I'm amazed. Literally... I've just gotten home from my boyfriend's, logged onto blogspot to see what new posts were up and to have a little read (this is my nightly ritual, lol), and I saw that I've passed the 50 followers mark!! :O I know this doesn't sound like a lot, but honestly, to me - it means a heckof  a lot!!

The 50 followers mark deffinitley calls for a giveaway! :) I don't know what this will include yet. Once new years is out of the way I'll get shopping for goodies for one of you lovely people! Thanks you to every single one of you, feels so good to know that peple are actually interested in what I have to say <3

So keep a look out for that giveaway!
Natalieslovex

'Sales' Haul

Okay so I did brave it out and hit the shops the day after boxing day and bank holiday monday. And guess what? It was still packed like a tin of sardines and all the shops were still like jumble sales!! But hey, that's part of the fun!! (this haul is courtesy of vouchers & money I recieved for Christmas, woop)

So the thing is, I always say I'm going to shop 'in the sales' but in reality I never buy anything from the sale racks. I just don't have the patience to I don't think, lol. Clothes wise, I didn't get anything exciting really... just some necessities to be honest :) Here's the haul comin' atcha!!

Just a plain taupey coloured, long sleeve t-shirt. It's ribbed, and quite long.

Miss Selfridge - £10

A bandeau top, navy & white stripes. Longline.

Miss Selfridge - £12

Light grey, jersey boyfriend blazer.

 Get this in a size smaller because they are quite large (even though they're boyf-fit)

New Look - £18

Longline grey V-neck jumper.

Great for teaming with leggings for casual looks.

Primark - £10

Grey star print, fluffy dressing gown.

This is super soft! I LOVE it.

Primark - £12

Beautiful nude coloured courts, hidden platform and suede texture.

Primark - £13

Really pretty paterned, cream & gold earrings.

Primark - £1.50

Jem encrusted cokctail ring.

Primark - £2

Long leaf-cluster, gold necklace.

Accessorize - £9

Love perfume (30ml) and Love shower gel gift set.

This is such a sweet girly scent, I love it.

The Body Shop - £15

Paco Rabanne Black XS perfume (50ml)

The bottle is so cute and this smell is lush!

Debenhams - £28.99

Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol II

16 eyeshadows, 2 eyeliners and travel sized Primer Potion

This is my favourite buy!! The colours are all beautiful, I love it.

I will put up a post of the swatches soon!

Debenhams - £27

Oh and I thought I'd throw in my favourite Christmas present, from my wonderful boyf!

Natalieslovex

Help?

Okay so I wanna get the HD Liquid foundation from Coastal Scents... however, because it's online I can only pick shades from what I see on my computer screen or from what people tell me, and also I can't really afford to make a mistake as they ship from the US so delivery is pretty expensive to the UK.

I was wondering if any of you guys have tried it, and know which shade would be right for me... unfortunately I don't know my MAC shade but with Revlon Colorstay I am Sand Beige.

Any help is much, much, much appreciated!
Natalieslovex

Motel dress

I'm sure you've all heard of the brand 'Motel' they do have all types of clothes but they're mostly known for their dresses. You can find them on the Motel website, but they are also stocked at places like Asos and Topshop. I ordered this dress for my upcoming sister's birthday...

The flowers are actually a bit more pink than this photo portrays, but you get the idea. It's a bandeau dress, with the bust plain black, then this pretty floral pattern throughout the rest of the dress. I purchased mine from the motel website, I can't actually remember the price but it was around £35 (most dresses are between £30-£40) the delivery was really quick, around 2-3 days. It's a tight fitting, bodycon dress so Spanx will be needed, haha! I ordered a size S which is size 10. Very flattering :) It is about mid-thigh length, and is quite short... so I'd team it with some black tights and killer heels!

If you have a party coming up, check out Motel because they have some great dresses! Have any of you ordered from Motel before? Did you like it?

Natalieslovex

Topcoat Challenge

A while ago now I purchased some Barry M nail paints, including the 3in1 basecoat/topcoat/nail hardener. I'd not used a topcoat or basecoat previous to this as I'd never really thought they do anything. So I thought I'd finally find out... For the first week I used the Barry M 3in1 as a topcoat and basecoat, and took a picture at the end of each day. For the next week I didn't use the Barry M 3in1 at all, just put the colour straight on to my nails and also took a picture at the end of each day.
I really put the 3in1 through it's paces... lots of housework, so the house was spotless for the rest of the week lol. When I wasn't wearing the 3in1 I just used my hands a normal amount - typing, odd bit of housework, nothing too intense lol. So here we are (click to enlarge the images, you can see the extent of the chips far better)...

BOTH WITH NO CHIPS FORMED AS IT'S ONLY THE FIRST DAY, LESS SHINE WITH NO 3IN1

NO CHIPS AT ALL WITH THE 3IN1, TYPICAL 'TYPING' CHIPS ALREADY FORMING WITH NO 3IN1

STILL NO CHIPS WITH THE 3IN1, TYPING CHIPS GETTING LARGER WITH NO 3IN1

TYPING CHIPS STARTING TO FORM WITH 3IN1, CHIPS STAYED THE SAME WITH NO 3IN1

(THIS LOOKS LIKE THE SAME PHOTO AS DAY 3, IT ISN'T AND EXCUSE THE FOOD COLOURING STAIN, HAHA)

STILL ONLY TYPING CHIPS WITH 3IN1, MAJOR CHIPPING WITH NO 3IN1

(I REALLY WANT THIS WEEK TO END SO I CAN RE-DO MY NAILS, TORTURE!)

CHIPS ONLY JUST STARTING TO FORM WITH 3IN1, STILL MAJOR CHIPPING WITHOUT 3IN1

CHIPS HAVEN'T REALLY CHANGED WITH 3IN1, HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE WITHOUT 3IN1

So as you can see... major, major difference!! Bearing in mind that I really put the 3in1 through it's paces, and just left the 'only colour' and carried on with my usual routines. Wow. I've been proven wrong. Topcoats and basecoats work wonders, and this Barry M one has exceeded my expectations! And woooop - now I can paint my nails again and get rid of these disgusting chipped beasties!

Natalieslovex

Just a quickie

I haven't got time to do a proper post today, but I thought I'd check in anyways and say that I hope you all had a brill Christmas and continue to have a great Boxing day! :D Just got family over again today and my Dad's cooking some massive feast, haha bless him. But back to the diet tomorrow :( sad times.

I've decided against a Christmas haul purely because I didn't get many actual gifts - mainly got money and vouchers. Which I'm 100% fine with, of course! :D

Have a great time guys! Check back with you all soon.
Natalieslovex

Very, very, very merry Christmas!

This is gonna be my last post until after Christmas as it's Christmas Eve... so I'm wishing all of you merry Christmas! I hope you all have a wonderful time and get amazing presents! Drink and eat as much as you can ;) But be safe guys! Haha. I'll be spending Christmas day with my family and then Christmas evening at my boyfriends house :) What are all of your plans? And for those of you who are not having a typical 'merry' Christmas, who might be having a hard time this year... my thoughts are with you and I hope you still manage to have a happy Christmas somehow :)

I might do a Christmas 'haul' the day after Boxing Day (boxing day is still part of our celebration), But then again I might not. But probably will, lol.  Thank you so, so much for all of your support and big, big virtual hugs for everyone who's following - it does mean a lot to me!!

EVERYBODY ENJOY THE NEXT FEW DAYS!! I'LL TALK TO YOU ALL SOON. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Naralieslovex

Giveaway!

Thank you for Caz to bringing this giveaway to my attention - there's an amazing prize up for grabs (a beautiful coacktail ring)!

Deffinitley give this giveaway a look, and follow her because she has a fab blog. Luckily I've got there just in time as it finishes tomorrow at midnight. So quick! Go look!
Natalieslovex

Ins and outs babaay.

INS
Christmas: it's the day after next! Can you believe it?! It's really snuck up on me man... at the moment I can't actually contain my excitement. I love Christmas so much, and although it's my first Christmas without my mummy, it's going to be a good one. Bring it on ;)

Rihanna's album R-Rated: been listening to this a hell of a lot lately. I'm preferring her music now to her 'pon de replay' and 'umbrella' days. Really good listen. If you like Russian Roulette and Wait Your Turn, deffinitley go and listen to this. Some amazing tracks on here!

Turning 17: my birthday is on the 4th of January, and I'm quite excited. Normally I don't get that excited about my birthdays, they don't really mean a lot to me :/ But this year... omg! Means I get to drive! I've been waiting to drive ever since I knew what a car even was. I love, love cars and I know I'm going to love driving! Watch out Jenson Button ;) haha nahh I'm just kidding. It's a bit surreal really though, I always saw 17 as 'grown-up' when I was younger. I still feel like a little kid at times lol, suppose this means I'm going to have to grow up :O

Lipsy just opened: Lipsy has some amazing dresses, always loved their stuff and now I don't have to go on their website to browse, woop! They've just opened a Lipsy store at our mall (Churchill Square in Brighton). Just in time for Christmas and New year, well done Lipsy!

OUTS
Christmas temps: sorry if you're a Christmas temp... but I really don't like you at the moment guys! Ha! Just joking... but seriously as if it wasn't hard enough to get a job! Now I have to wait til all the temps have gone to try and find myself a job again. Stressin' me out this is. I want to work so badly! But so hard to find a job.

Ice: yes, okay, okay... I enjoyed the snow. I was like a little child and I played in it for hours. However, I do not like the ice it's left behind. It's like an ice rink around my area!! The only way to get to the bus stop is to chance breaking you neck, lmao.

Having no dollar: yep, like I said - so hard to find a job. This equals no money. Which equals a very unhappy Natalie. Plus Christmas on top of that, I don't really mind spending money at Christmas though. I absolutely love finding that perfect present for someone, the money doesn't matter.

Storage: maybe this is something you girls could help me with. I need some more storage for my make up and I wanted some of those small plastic drawers? Orrrr, I've seen some strong cardboardy coloured ones in WHSmiths, but they don't have them anymore. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Haul

Today I had an orthadontist appointment, which is in the middle of town and I couldn't resist the temptation of wandering into the mall (you know how it is, lol)... Especially as I knew Superdrug are doing 3 for 2 on everything, which excites me greatly lol. I told myself that I could only get 3 things (for the 3 for 2) but... I ended up getting six - oops. I also got some gloves :) Here we go...

GOSH Velvet touch foundation primer - RRP £13.00

Maybelline Last Stiletto mascara - RRP £7.99

Rimmel Max Volume Flash macara - RRP £6.49

Maybelline Line Definer liquid eyeliner - RRP £4.99

Barry M Khol eyeliner pencil in White - RRP £2.95

Barry M Nail paint in Pure Turquoise - RRP £2.95

I got the two Barry M products for free so this little lost cost me £32.47 :)

Andddd I got those lovely little fingerless gloves that have a little bit you can put over the top to transform them to mittens. Been wanting some of these for ages but didn't want to splash out too much. I found these ones at Sainsburys for £3.50!! I love them.

Natalieslovex

Just going to include pictures of the mascara wands incase anyone else was interested in buying them but wanted to see the brushes first :)

LASH STILETTO

MAX VOLUME FLASH

Two bits from MAC

I got these two about a week and a half ago... I just forgot to post! For some reason, I've been buying blushers and lipsticks from MAC mainly, and nothing else. Hm, weird lol. Well anyway here they are...

This is a sheertone shimmer blush in Springsheen.

It's a pretty peachy/pink colour with gold pearl, I've been wearing it a lot lately.

This is a lsutre lipstick in Plink! (lustres and creamsheens are my faves)

I've been waiting to get my hands on this for ages and it didn't dissapoint.

Here come the swatches...

TOP: Springsheen blush

BOTTOM: Plink! lipstick

I had to throw this picture in too because it made me laugh. She's a typical nosey cat is Peanut. 'Curiosity killed the cat' afterall ;)

Natalieslovex

'Does this colour suit me mum?'

FOTD

Today I'm just going to be visiting relatives that I won't see over Christmas, so I just wanted a relaxed look really... it'll just be chilling on the sofa with coffee and biscuits all day... yum ;)
Just a bit of blusher, pink lip and lashings of mascara! :D Ignore the break-out on my forehead, gr lol.

So I used...

Revlon Colorstay

Rimmel Renew & Lift powder

Springsheen blusher

Avon brow definer

GOSH liquid liner

Rimmel Khol pencil

ME ME ME Fat Cat lashes mascara

MAC Creme Cup lipstick

Have a great day chicks!!

Natalieslovex

Winter wonderland!

Last night when I went to bed... it was snowing. This morning when I woke up - it had fallen! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE snow, I really do! The UK don't really cope well with snow, lol. It's been expected for weeks but everything still grinds to a holt - the trains, buses, airports, schools are closed. We're rubbish to be honest and I love it!

In the south-east we don't normally get much snow... once a year if we're lucky. And normally thats only a thin coating, no where near enough to build a snow man. Although we did get a bit in Febuary. So I got out of bed, still in my pj's, chucked on some boots and a coat... and went out taking pictures! I thought I would share them because they are so beautiful. I am officially in the most festive mood ever!

This is the fence in our back garden

Haha, my reflection in the back door.

Stunning, right??

I live in a close, and this is oppisite my house, and I caught it just as the sun was coming up - SO pretty

For some reason I love footprints in snow <3

This is the view from the very entrance of the close

This is our little mini balcony thingy :)

Anddddd... you're porbably getting bored of all the pictures but I thought seeing as though I'm feeling so christmassy I would show you our tree. We don't like our tree all neat and symetrical. Me and my Dad call it 'rustic' ha!

This is just my favourite bauble ever so I had to include it!

Happy holidays bloggers! Enjoy the snow if you have any... and if you don't like snow? Well... it's just ane xcuse to snuggle up on the couch with a cup of hot choc and marshmallows!

Natalieslovex